Busting 4 common exercise myths...

There are so many exercise myths and misconceptions floating around, it can be hard to know what to believe at times! Is cardio or strength training more effective for fat loss? Do you need to sweat and feel sore after a workout to see results?

Without knowing the answers to these questions, you’re unable to choose the right workouts and training habits to maximise your training sessions, and it becomes so much harder to achieve your fitness and health goals.

But not to worry, we’ve got the answers to these questions and more! Let’s separate the fact from the fiction, and bust four of the most common myths around exercise and training.

1. A sweaty workout is a more effective workout.

It may surprise you to know that sweat is not an indicator of an effective workout!

Sweat is actually your body cooling you down during an intense workout. During exercise, your core temperature rises, and your body produces sweat as a way of keeping this heat in check. Interestingly, it’s not the sweat itself that acts to cool you down, but the evaporation of the sweat.

Which is where the influence of your environment comes into effect. The environment you’re working out in plays a big role in how much sweat you produce. If you’re exercising in a hot, humid environment or weather, you’ll sweat far more than you would in a cooler scenario. And add to that, in humidity your sweat doesn’t evaporate as effectively, so your body temperature will continue increasing, and you’ll feel like you’re sweating more.

In reality, despite the buckets of sweat pouring off your body, by doing the same exercise in a cooler climate, chances are you’d burn just the same amount of calories, and see the same results as you would in the hotter, humid environment.

So sweat actually doesn’t tell you much at all about how hard you pushed yourself in your workout!

2. Weights make you bulky.

Strength training is feared by many people - especially females - due to the common misconception that weight training builds bulky, huge muscles. However this is a complete myth!

Another myth about strength training is that it involves lifting heavy weights and using weight machines. Fiction!

Strength training refers to any exercise using resistance to challenge your muscles - and this resistance can mean anything from bodyweight exercise (hello burpees, pushups, chin ups and all the fun stuff!) to kettlebells, medicine balls, resistance bands… You name it!

Essentially, strength training is a crucial part of your workout routine, as it helps build lean muscle, boosting your metabolism and helping you get stronger and fitter. And no, that doesn’t mean you’ll get bulky - in fact, thanks to the tiny amounts of testosterone produced by women, in reality women have to lift really heavy really often to build bulk. So don’t worry, strength training will have you looking slim and toned, no need to fear the bulk!

That’s exactly why we add strength exercises to our HIIT circuits at Symetrie - maximum results, with endless benefits! So now you can have a newfound appreciation for the kick throughs, med ball slams, kettlebell swings and frog squats we program for you!

3. You need to exercise every day to see results.

This myth can be a dangerous one - and is most definitely not true! When you workout, you actually create micro tears in your muscle fibres. When they rebuild themselves, they’re strengthening, and it’s this process which allows you to get stronger and fitter after exercise.

To optimise this process, you need to give your body some downtime for recovery. You should try to incorporate one or two rest days each week, or switch your fave HIIT workouts for some of the more restorative sessions we offer, like our Yoga or Power Pilates sessions.

These active recovery days put less stress on your body, and actually help you see better results, faster than if you were exercising every single day! Yes, this is your permission to have a day off ;)

4. Doing heaps of cardio is the best way to lose fat.

Another myth! If you’re aiming to lose fat, cardio isn’t necessarily your best bet. In fact, while traditional steady state cardio helps you burn calories during your workout, the most effective method of burning fat is a combination of HIIT and strength training.

Both HIIT and Strength workouts boost your metabolism (both during and for up to 48 hours post-workout), helping you burn more calories, and allow you to build more lean muscle - which in turn burns more calories each day, even when you’re resting.

This is what makes our Symetrie HIIT sessions so effective for achieving your health goals - our combination of HIIT, cardio exercises and resistance (or strength - now you know exactly what this term means!) exercises we incorporate into each and every workout makes our circuits the most effective way to torch excess fat - far more powerfully than any traditional cardio workout routine ever could!

So there you have it - you now know fact from fiction, to help you on your way to achieving your health goals! 

One thing’s for sure, our Symetrie classes offer everything you need to become your fittest, strongest and healthiest self - so don’t wait, book into your next class now!
Or, bring a friend along to help them see the same amazing results, and hold you accountable in your workouts! Our Intro Offer gives them access to unlimited classes for two weeks for just $49!